It's common to associate duty with the military, and there's enough warfare flying across the pages of The Unvanquished to bring tons of soldierly duty to the front. But there's more to it than just that.
In Faulkner's South, duty is more than something you're assigned along with your uniform. It has to do with tradition, with what is expected of men and women, and with being brave in the face of danger.
The big kicker of the novel is the way that Bayard, the narrator, arranges it so that he's fulfilling his duty but rejecting the culture of violence and revenge that he grew up with. The fact that he can't just put his foot down and say, "No, thanks," to killing his father's murderer, but has to go face him, makes us think that duty is a powerful thing.
Questions About Duty
- How do the Southern gentlemen and Dru see Bayard's duty at the end of the novel? What does he see as his duty? Are they similar or different ideas? What do you think he is obligated by duty to do?
- The novel seems to situate the characters' senses of duty as part of their Southern identity. Do you think that duty is universal or does it depend on the culture?
- Why does Bayard react differently to Granny's death than his father's? How does his sense of duty change over the course of the novel?
- How are duties divided up between men and women in the novel? Is there any overlap?
Chew on This
Bayard evolves from a vengeful teenager to a zen-master pacifist through the course of the novel.
Bayard does not fulfill his duty to his father's memory when he goes unarmed to meet his killer.